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Seems to me I remember another member threatening suicide, demanding their account be closed or there would be hell to pay, hijacking the forum for days with irrational behavior, causing massive turmoil right before AMG and because of the forgiving nature of the administrators was allowed to return with a new name. That had never been done before either and was against the "rules" of the forums at that time. Just like that member in another 48 this will all be forgotten and we will be on to our next bit of crazy...might be you, might be me, but there will be some crazy.

We are not getting mad about it. I think there are some good issues here. I wonder if there couldn't be a part of the forum that we could invite people to in times of emergency. Or have a chat feature. Or set up a Yahoo IM room specifically for this. Indeed, the latter idea would allow talking in real-time, which could speed such efforts along? It's just an idea. That would protect the forum a little and no feathers would be ruffled - yet we would retain the ability to help someone in real time.

Maybe Peter/Tim could look into an emergency "batroom" for us to dive into when someone needs real-time help like this. Or, instead of reinventing the wheel, we could use yahoo or MSN....but a special place away from HIV detractors/haters? The banned person could log into their, not here and talk to people in real time.

Just an idea.

Rich

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Seems to me I remember another member threatening suicide, demanding their account be closed or there would be hell to pay, hijacking the forum for days with irrational behavior, causing massive turmoil right before AMG and because of the forgiving nature of the administrators was allowed to return with a new name. That had never been done before either and was against the "rules" of the forums at that time. Just like that member in another 48 this will all be forgotten and we will be on to our next bit of crazy...might be you, might be me, but there will be some crazy.

and where do we draw the 'line' between support in this forum and abuse of it?

Other forum members here are guility of aiding and abetting the fraud that was perpetuated here.

Both that poster and others who supported it abused this forum and it's quite sickening.

I don't know who those members are but I judge them equally guilty.

So what happens now?

Bailey (who feels like casting the third or fourth stone)

I can only assume you mean me here. After all, I am the one in print who specifically asked that Peter and the moderators allow Boo to resume posting. I have been avoiding this wretched little thread since its inception, but I imagine I have to say something as it is alleged that I "aided and abetted a fraud".

You judge me guilty and are sickened.

So be it.

I stand firmly behind every post I made during the event and every action I took.

I also publicly state that I am grateful beyond anything words could suitably express for Peter and the moderator's willingness to allow Boo to resume posting that night.

that comment was not directed about the event, but about the actions of abettors who knew of the duplicitous account before this drama even began.

That would also be me. Confessed. I figured it out a few hours before all this began. And yes, I chose to keep that to myself at the time and did not alert the moderators. Guilty as charged.

But at the time, this was the only point of contact I had with him and I sensed the need for the communication to happen. To use the title of this thread, the importance for me of being able to stay in contact with Boo and assess what was happening with him "trumped" the importance of ratting him out at the time.

Again, I wouldn't change a single thing I said or did that day. Not one word, not one post, not one call.

I wonder if there couldn't be a part of the forum that we could invite people to in times of emergency. Or have a chat feature. Or set up a Yahoo IM room specifically for this. Indeed, the latter idea would allow talking in real-time, which could speed such efforts along? It's just an idea. That would protect the forum a little and no feathers would be ruffled - yet we would retain the ability to help someone in real time.

Maybe Peter/Tim could look into an emergency "batroom" for us to dive into when someone needs real-time help like this. Or, instead of reinventing the wheel, we could use yahoo or MSN....but a special place away from HIV detractors/haters? The banned person could log into their, not here and talk to people in real time.

Just an idea.

Rich

Rich, I'm glad you threw this idea out here. I thought about something not exactly the same, but similar, last year. More on the lines of an online counsellor of sorts. In the spirit of not hijacking this thread I will start a new thread on this subject to see what people here think.

Melia

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/\___/\ /\__/\(=' . '=) (=' . '=)(,,,_ ,,,)/ (,,,_ ,,,)/ Cats rule!

The difference between cats and dogs is that dogs come when called, whereas cats take a message and get back to you.

Tim, you don't need to regret anything you did. I can only hope that if I was in a similar situation as Boo that somebody would go out of their way for me as you did.

D

Thank you for recognizing Tim's genuine heroism, David. I also hope you are as lucky to have someone like Tim if you are ever in similar circumstances.

I don't really care what people think about me or my actions but the truth is Tim saved my life Monday night. He listened to me crying incoherently and calmly, gently talked me out of a place I was trapped in. No one has ever been there for me before like Tim was, and he has my unconditional love as long as I'm alive (if I believed in an afterlife he'd have my love there as well!). It's difficult for me to be serious at any time but I could not be more serious when I say Tim is a remarkable, beautiful, loving, funny person who has probably been a wonderful influence on everyone he's met or dealt with for any length of time.

If more people in the world, me especially, were like Tim it would be a much better place for humans and all creatures (he loves beagles so how can he have any imperfections?).

As loath as I am to display emotion this week seems to be ground zero so Tim, I salute you! And I love you and am thankful to have you as a friend.

And only to you I'm always -

Boo

P.S. Please excuse me for hijacking this otherwise lovely thread.

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String up every aristocrat!Out with the priests and let them live on their fat!

Folks - I am happy the events of Monday night turned out the way they did. The way you guys reacted in that situation was heroic and amazing. Like David said in an earlier post, " I hope they are there for me if I get in that situation" well that goes for me as well.

The world is not black and white but shades of grey. Nothing is an absolute so it's nice to know a support forum is just that for support. This forum means a lot to people. For some it's a way of meeting other people, a place to get support , have a laugh, for some it's a source of information and others it's a place to discuss various topics.

Discussion of any topic is going to have contrasting points of view and as long as the attacks aren't personal then let the discussion flow. One doesn't always have to reply to every post. It can be ignored and simply dropped for another day. No one has the morale high ground on any topic. We all just have to agree that at times we will all disagree on something.

Each of us has comes from different backgrounds and are at different points in our lives. Each situation is unique and each person is unique. What works in one situation doesn't work in another. As I said earlier, the world is gray.

From my standpoint, I am happy Boo is back with us and that his posts are again populating the forum. I might not agree with him all the time but it's his right to state his point of view. It just happens to be something people in a free country allow.

I'd like to ask everyone to try and put this behind us so we can all move forward. To help make this possible, I'm going to lock this thread and I (and the other moderators) thank you all for your cooperation in letting the matter rest.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts